Eurobank this week posted an adjusted net profit of €732 million for the first half of 2024, an increase of 22.2 per cent year-on-year, while reported net profit stood at €721 million.

In addition, the bank’s financial results for this period showed that earnings per share stood at €0.20, while the return on tangible book value (RoTBV) stood at 18.5 per cent.

“Eurobank has recently achieved several milestones,” said Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias, referencing the dividends the bank distributed to its shareholders, the first time this has happened since 2007.

Karavias also said that “after more than ten years, Eurobank regained investment grade status by two rating agencies, Moody’s and DBRS”.

“In Cyprus, we became the majority shareholder in Hellenic Bank with a 55.9 per cent stake, paving the way for full consolidation, which will create a regional banking group with €100bn balance sheet,” the Eurobank CEO said.

“The bank maintains a systemic presence and plays a pivotal role in each of its three key markets: Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria,” he added.

Eurobank announced on Wednesday evening that it had successfully completed its mandatory public offer to acquire up to 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Hellenic Bank.

This resulted in Eurobank increasing its direct stake in the Cypriot lender to 55.886 per cent, which was rounded up to 55.9 per cent in the CEO Fokion Karavias’ statements accompanying the bank’s financial results for the first half of 2024.

In an announcement, Eurobank stated that on July 30, 2024, the acceptance process for the mandatory public takeover offer, submitted on June 4, 2024, was finalised.

The offer aimed at acquiring the entire issued share capital of Hellenic Bank Public Company Limited.

Larnaca and Paphos airports saw a 4.5 per cent rise in passenger numbers in the first half of 2024, compared to last year, according to Maria Kouroupi, Director of Aviation Development and Communications at Hermes Airports.

Kouroupi said that July alone saw approximately 1.5 million passengers, marking a 1 per cent increase from the previous year.

Overall, from January to July 2024, there was a 4.5 per cent year-on-year increase, with a total of 6.6 million passengers arriving and departing from both international airports in Cyprus.

Moreover, she described the uptick as “very positive,” adding that, “following a significant rise last year, this year has shown a substantial recovery, despite all the adverse conditions and a challenging start”.

Net new loans in Cyprus experienced a substantial increase in June 2024, reaching a total of €330.6 million, compared to €234.9 million in May, according to a report released this week by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

Overall, new loans saw a rise to €514.9 million in June 2024, up from €391.6 million in the previous month.

This figure includes both new loan contracts and re-negotiated agreements within the reporting month.

In addition, the CBC explained that this increase is primarily attributed to a €95.7 million boost in net new loans.

New consumer loans climbed to €21.7 million from €21.2 million in the previous month, with net new loans increasing to €20.3 million from €19.8 million.

Loans for home purchases also grew, reaching €129.9 million from €119.7 million the month before, with net new loans in this sector rising to €107.1 million from €92.2 million.

The development of the Larnaca marina and port will be split into two separate projects, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Thursday, referring to works estimated to cost up to €30 million plus VAT.

In a joint approach of the ministry with the recommendations of the ad hoc committee of Larnaca, the decisions on the expansion of the marina and the port of the city will be taken at a later stage after a relevant expert study, the minister said.

These decisions were taken after the termination of the €1.2 million joint development contract by the Kition Ocean Holdings consortium on May 27, marking the third failure of the whole effort following earlier attempts in 2010 and 2015.

“The termination of the contract should not deprive the city of Larnaca of the projects and our decisions on the next steps must take into account the fastest possible implementation of the projects,” Vafeades told a press conference.

Regarding the maintenance and upgrading of the marina, works will be carried out for the dredging of the 25,000 sq. metre marine area at the marina’s entrance, as well as maintenance works within the marine zone.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, August 1 with profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 172.37 points at 12:33 during the day, reflecting an increase of 1.85 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 104.98 points, representing a rise of 1.88 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €682,360, until the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, investment firm and hotel indexes all rose, increasing by 2.3 per cent, 0.69 per cent, 3.53 per cent, and 0.59 per cent respectively.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Hellenic Bank (+3.56 per cent), Demetra (+3.6 per cent), Logicom (+1.29 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (no change), and Vassiliko Cement Works PLC (+1.65 per cent).